One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lost in Space 50th Anniversary Blogging: "The Raft" (Dec 1, 1965)

In
“The Raft,” Professor Robinson (Guy Williams) works day and night to perfect a
new fuel which can get the Jupiter 2 off its inhospitable world, and return to
space.

Unfortunately, his plasma fuel – “the
fourth state of matter” -- is highly unstable, and dangerous to use.

An
attempt to take-off goes poorly, and an alternative is suggested by some experiments that Will (Bill Mumy) has been conducting.

Perhaps a balloon could carry a small ship -- a
kind of raft -- into the air, and then a plasma blast could carry it out of
orbit.

He and Will are trapped in the raft when Smith
and the robot launch it, sending it into space.

Will and the good doctor soon land on a planet Smith believes is Earth,
but which is actually inhabited by a strange plant creature…

I
suppose it was inevitable.

But
after two legitimately great episodes (“The Sky is Falling” and “Wish Upon a
Star,”) Lost in Space (1965 – 1968) plummets back to Earth with “The
Raft,” an underwhelming and familiar story that doesn’t take the characters or
overall story-line in a new direction.

In short, this is another time-waster,
one of many “Smith causes everyone trouble” stories, with no real
follow-through.

Here,
Smith gets his way, taking an escape craft to what he believes is Earth,
manipulating the robot, Will and the other Robinsons to do so. The space raft,
however, only orbits the Robinsons’ planet, and comes down to land not far from
the settlement, though in the territory of a weird plant being, or "Bush Man."

I
must confess that, visualized in black-and-white, that plant creature is creepy as hell. Its bulbous, soft eyes somehow seem real to
me, even today, but perhaps because I first saw this episode in childhood. But it is undeniably effective the way the episode introduces the monster. Smith and Will encounter it, and it is un-moving, like a tree. It just stands there, and they approach it...unaware that it is a danger.

Yet the problem with the
creature is that there is no follow-through with it at all. What does it want? Why don’t the Robinsons
encounter it again?

Is it intelligent?

Similarly, we had Robinson counseling against the use of violence a couple of episodes back ("The Sky is Falling"), but here he doesn't hesitate to blast the creature with his laser. How does he know that there aren't more of these creatures, and that he isn't, in essence, starting a war with this action?

No
answers are provided regarding these questions, and so the monster's presence is in the story serves no real
dramatic or science fiction purpose.

It is simply a “threatening” monster, and a one-off threatening monster to boot. This is the aspect of Lost in Space I like
the least: the idea that a creature (like a giant Cyclops or plant monster) can
appear on the planet one week, but then never be seen or mentioned again.

Otherwise,
“The Raft” is filled with tiresome stock footage of John and Maureen in the chariot,
searching for Will, and of Don West, in the rocket pack, doing the same by
air.

We’ve seen all this footage before,
and it isn’t terribly well-integrated into the action this time around. It just slows the story down. So this is definitely an off-week for the production.

If
there is anything important to report about “The Raft,” it is that the Robot is
beginning to develop as a character.

Here, he shouts “Danger! Danger!” as would
become his catchphrase, but also -- for the first time, I believe -- sasses Dr.
Smith.

In particular, the Robot calls him a “bag
of wind.”

So far on the series, the robot has been under Smith’s command. From here on out, he starts to push back against his former master.

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

Follow by Email

What the Critics Say...

"...some of the best writing about the genre has been done by John Kenneth Muir. I am particularly grateful to him for the time and attention he's paid to things others have overlooked, under-appreciated and often written off. His is a fan's perspective first, but with a critic's eye to theme and underscore, to influence and pastiche..." - Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, in the foreword to Horror Films FAQ (October 2013).

"Hands down, John Kenneth Muir is one of the finest critics and writers working today. His deep analysis of contemporary American culture is always illuminating and insightful. John's film writing and criticism is outstanding and a great place to start for any budding writer, but one should also examine his work on comic books, TV, and music. His weighty catalog of books and essays combined with his significant blog production places him at the top of pop culture writers. Johns work is essential in understanding the centrality of culture in modern society." - Professor Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Executive Director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College (2014).

"...an independent film scholar, [Muir] explains film studies concepts in a language that is reader-friendly and engaging..." (The Hindu, 2007)"...Muir's genius lies in his giving context to the films..." (Choice, 2007)